Birthday Blues
by friendoftheearth
Summary: It's Aaron's birthday!


My thanks to Sylvain for the beta work

Birthday Blues

It had been what, November? Definitely long before Christmas anyway when his mum had first mentioned his birthday, loudly declaring in a pub full of people that his 21st was coming up. Suddenly, it was all everyone could talk about. Aaron couldn't understand why, it was just another birthday, wasn't it, and birthdays were always a pretty low key affair in his family unless, of course, you were a kid like Sarah and Noah, and then you got a party, the ice cream, jelly and birthday cake kind of party. Not that he'd ever had that sort of party when he was growing up, his dad had preferred to take him somewhere for the day, him and a couple of friends, it was alright, he'd always enjoyed himself.

But back then, he had quietly envied the kids who had a party, not because of the fuss that was made of them on that day, or because of all the presents they'd inevitably received, but because their mum had been the one to organize the party, because their mum had actually been present on the day itself… unlike his mother, she was painfully absent from every such memorable event, like school's sports day, and the school Christmas concerts. He had really felt her absence on such days but even more so on his birthday, he'd always hoped she'd turn up on that day... she never did, of course, which was why he resented her making a fuss over his birthday now. If they hadn't been important to her before, then how could they be now?

Ok, so she'd not actually forgotten the day, she'd always sent a card with some money in it. It was usually a fiver, but even if she'd sent 50 quid or even 5000, it wouldn't have meant anything to him, not unless she'd have handed him the card herself, if she'd actually made some effort where he was concerned.

He'd soon got too old for parties, for days out with his dad… actually, they'd just stopped when his dad started seeing Sandra. That was when his dad had first started to lose interest, not to mention patience, with him. Yeah, that had been the beginning of the end for his relationship with his dad. He knew for certain he wouldn't be getting a card from him this year, not that he wanted one, he didn't want anything from him.

Aaron took another sip of his tea, it was hot, just what he needed on this bitterly cold January day. Not only did it warm his fingers, it helped warm his insides too… it didn't do anything for his mood though, he doubted anything would.

He was on his afternoon break, was sitting on Cain's office desk quietly thinking… moping…. sulking… admittedly feeling just a little sorry for himself, and even though reflecting on things wasn't helping, he just couldn't stop himself.

Well it was a Saturday, the first Saturday after the New Year celebrations, and it also happened to be his birthday… and he was having to work! Between it being Christmas and New Year, they were running behind workwise, and now that Cain had gone down with the bug that was doing the rounds, he'd had no choice but to come in and do a full day's graft.

It would have been nice to have had a lie in, to have stayed snuggled up to Jackson but no, Jackson had left for work before him this morning. But not before he'd kissed him, wished him 'Happy Birthday, Babe' and handed him a card. As he'd opened it, Jackson had said, "I've not had chance to get you anything yet, but I will."

He didn't want anything, except some quality time together, and tonight might have taken care of that. Although he'd told Jackson he didn't want any fuss and Jackson had accepted that, he had thought about suggesting the two of them go out for a slap up meal tonight and then on to a club… but that wasn't looking at all likely now. Jackson had rung not ten minutes since to say he'd somehow ruptured a water pipe and having managed to replace it, now had one hell of a mess to deal with. The clean up operation was likely to take hours according to Jackson, he was likely to still be there going on midnight.

Jackson would be too knackered to go anywhere, all he'd be fit for was bed… and then only to sleep! He'd never known Jackson make such a costly mistake before, he was always so careful, so professional, and the one time he did mess up… well it would have to be today of all days, wouldn't it? Sods law at its evil best!

That bit of news had left him feeling more than a little low and he was beginning to feel a little lonely now, too. He hadn't seen anyone in hours and apart from Jackson's phone call, he hadn't spoken to anyone either. He'd had lots of _Happy Birthday_ texts first thing this morning, his phone had been hot… but nothing since, and all he had for company was the radio and that was doing little to raise his spirits.

Setting down his empty mug, he stepped over to the car he'd been working on, he wasn't making much progress on it, it looked like he'd be working late too, not that he had anything better to do now. It was his own fault. It wasn't just Jackson he'd told to not make any kind of fuss over him today, he'd made that fact plain to everyone, and in doing so had quickly put an end to the idea of them throwing him 'a bit of do' to mark his 21st. He really didn't want one, he didn't like being centre of attention, and they knew that so why go out of their way to shine the spotlight directly on him?

He supposed he could have been a bit more diplomatic where his protests were concerned, toned them down a little, but his mum just wouldn't listen and had gone on and on about it and he'd ended up telling her a few home truths.

It had all gone quiet on the subject then, no one had mentioned it again. At first, he'd been relieved but as Christmas had come and gone and the day had drawn closer, he'd started to feel guilty and maybe even a little disappointed now that the day had actually arrived.

No, he hadn't wanted a fuss, a fancy spread, a free bar or any of the other things his mum had suggested … but a few pints at the Wooly with family and friends would have been ok, he would have enjoyed that… everyone would have. He'd spoilt it for everyone, hadn't he? He'd protested so much they were all wary of doing anything he might take exception too.

Yeah, he'd certainly got what he wanted… a fuss-free day.

Well, not completely fuss-free, Paddy had greeted him that morning with a cheerful rendition of 'Happy Birthday', the 'squashed tomatoes and stew' version, it was typical of Paddy and it had made him smile. He'd had a card off Paddy too, and a prezzy! He cringed as a certain image filled his head. He knew he was being ungrateful but… Paddy was usually pretty good when it came to buying him clothes, he'd seek out a helpful shop assistant and get them to pick something suitable … but not this time, it seemed. Not only was the shirt two sizes too big, it was a pukey yellowy green colour. He hadn't known what to say on unwrapping it, he'd been lost for words as he'd sat staring at. But then Paddy had asked across the breakfast table, "Do you like it?" He couldn't believe Paddy actually thought he could like something so hideous, but he'd said yes and had thanked him for it... well he couldn't hurt Paddy's feelings and he would have done if he'd told him what he really thought of it.

And to think Paddy and his mum had wanted to splash out, spend some serious cash on him this being his 21st. They had suggested they club together and buy him his own set of wheels. He'd said no, he couldn't let them do that, and had been adamant about them keeping their spending on him to a minimal. It seemed Paddy had… he hated himself for thinking it but Paddy must have got that shirt out of a bargain bin or in a shop clearance!

And as for his mum… now she would be the first to admit she was hopeless at buying presents, she always handed them over nervously, like she knew for certain the recipient wasn't going to like it. But not this morning, she'd jumped out on him as he'd earlier passed the Wooly on his way to work, proudly pressing her gift to him into his hands and insisting he open it there and then. He'd done as bid and again found himself lost for words. She'd given him a wooden ale tankard, and not a new one either. No, this was old, older than her even, and having seen it in the flea market in Congleton, she'd bought it with the idea of it being an ornament for the pub. Then, she'd realised it would make a nice gift for him! As he'd stood there looking at it... more than a little stunned, she'd snatched it back off him, telling him it was to be kept behind the bar, that it was for him alone to sup from when he drank at the Wooly! He'd smiled and told her he couldn't wait… well he'd had to say something nice, hadn't he?

So now he had a shirt he wouldn't be seen dead in, and a tankard he wouldn't be seen dead drinking out of! What were they thinking? He was 21 not 91! If he didn't know them better, he'd swear they were winding him up.

He managed to concentrate on work for a couple of hours, and had got quite a bit done, but once it had started to go dark and the temperature to drop still further, he decided to call it a day.

He found the Smithy empty, a note from Paddy waiting for him on the kitchen table. He'd been called out and wouldn't be back for hours. Strange, Paddy wasn't supposed to be on call today, it was his weekend off. He shook his head woefully, not only would he be eating his tea alone, he'd be alone for most of the evening. He made his way upstairs, intent on taking a shower… or maybe even a long soak in a hot bath. Well, he had the house to himself for once, there would be no one knocking on the bathroom door telling him to hurry up.

Wrong! He'd been in the bath all of ten minutes, was just starting to fall asleep … when a loud rap had come on the door, followed a split second later by his mother's voice. Talk about chalk on a blackboard! He'd had the urge to slip under the water, to just drown out her pleas but then he'd remembered there was no lock on the door and knew she'd have just walked on in if he continued to ignore her.

Priya had phoned in sick, Marlon too, Cain seemingly not the only one to have been hit by the stomach bug today. With Diane in Spain, his mum was all on her own at the pub and barrels needed changing, glasses needed collecting, pints needed pulling, she was desperate… she had to be if she wanted him to pull a pint… he could down one no problem but pull one… well, that he just hadn't got the hang of.

After promising to be there ASAP, he reluctantly hauled himself out of the bath, he was just getting used to the idea of spending the evening alone, had planned on pigging out on the contents of the biscuit tin while watching Top Gear on the telly. Now, it seemed the evening was to get even more exciting than that… he was going to spend it watching his mum flirt with any and all available males… and knowing her, some unavailable ones too!

It was only when he was pulling on some clothes that he got to wondering why, if she was so busy, hadn't she just phoned him? He'd quickly realised the answer to that, she knew he'd ignore her calls. Well, he usually did, it was a habit he found hard to break.

Before leaving the house, he tried ringing Jackson but his call immediately went to voicemail, he was obviously still ankle deep in water! He sent him a text instead, telling him he missed him, loved him, couldn't wait to see him. He knew Jackson would smile on reading the message, and that thought put a smile on his own face, and in a better mood to play bartender… a good thing, too, he didn't want to turn the beer sour now, did he?

The Wooly was all lit up; the Christmas lights still in place. It gave the pub a warm glow, a welcoming feel to it and it had him quicken his step, suddenly eager to get inside.

As he walked through the door, he was greeted by a wall of sound, a deafening chorus of "Happy Birthday". It stopped him dead in his tracks.

He could only stare at the sea of faces, confused by the presence of some especially, Victoria and Adam were here… but weren't they supposed to be staying with Hannah? And Cain was here, and Marlon... and just about everyone else supposedly hit by the bug! Paddy and Jackson were here too and were leading the singing, 'What the … ?'

Suddenly, the truth dawned on him. Well, the birthday banners, balloons, finger buffet and birthday cake were all further glaringly obvious clues to what was going on. It was a surprise birthday party!

The shock instantly began to wear off and he couldn't keep from smiling. All his family, all his friends... his very best friend, his everything… Jackson, they were all here for him. It felt good… he felt good and when the cheers stopped and Jackson stepped forward to plant a kiss on his lips, he thought his heart might just burst.

"Sorry!" Jackson grinned, "We just had to, we had to celebrate today, make it special in some way."

And that's exactly what they'd done. He'd said he hadn't wanted a fuss but he'd realised today that it was exactly what he wanted. The whole day had been a wind up, the daft gifts, the missing people… it was all to make him realise just what he was missing, and that it wasn't just about him, it was about the people who cared about him, who loved him… that it was their day to share in too.

Well, if they wanted to spoil him, so be it… bring it on!

END


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